Purposeful Abandonment: Making Tough Choices to Grow Your Association with Elisa Pratt

About the Episode:

1. Strategic Planning and Data Utilization for Purposeful Abandonment

Learn how to effectively use data to identify when a project or offering has become more of a burden than benefit.  Leverage external information from studies, consultants, or your competitors to drive meaningful engagement within your association.

2. Adapt to Multigenerational Membership and Leadership for Consensus Building

Understand the needs of segmenting membership to cater to different age groups within the association. Learn how you can build consensus on what initiatives to cut by considering the needs of both legacy and younger members.

3. Deliver Tangible Value and Benefits to Members Through Resource Reallocation

Members seek actionable and tangible benefits from their membership. Learn how to reallocate resources to initiatives that provide real value such as networking opportunities, mentoring programs, and other relationship-building activities.

4. Assess Program Effectiveness for Smooth Sunsetting

Securing sponsors and fundraising is not enough to save a project. It’s important to address the core issues and evaluate the effectiveness and financial viability of initiatives. Learn how you can identify underperforming offerings for potential abandonment.

5. Balance Personal and Professional Dynamics in Decision-Making

Navigate the intersection of personal and professional dynamics for your association’s success. Remove personal bias and focus on objective, data-driven decision-making for your association’s best interests and strategic goals.

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About the Guest:

Elisa Pratt, CEO and Chief Strategist of Brewer Pratt Solutions, is an influential strategic specialist who served as an impactful senior staff member for several trade and individual membership associations, both domestic and international. She leverages a record of transformative success and specializes in strategic planning, leadership development, and engagement.

As an association management executive for more than 20 years, she delivers strategic and actionable innovations, future-focused member engagement solutions, and tactical operational effectiveness solutions.

With a unique background in components, Pratt is a Certified Association Executive (CAE), has earned her Certified Virtual Facilitator designation from the International Institute for Facilitation (INIFAC), and holds a MA in Government from Johns Hopkins University.

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About the Host

Farhad Khan is the CEO & Membership Strategist at Grype Digital. He has helped numerous associations automate member engagement and retention over his career of 15+ years.

With his expertise in digital strategies and membership websites, he led Member Lounge to become one of Ottawa's Fastest Growing Companies in 2024.

Farhad was awarded the Bootstrap Awards for Best Guerrilla Marketing, and an Entrepreneurial Rising Star by Invest Ottawa. He is also a 2016 Top Forty Under 40 award Honoree by Ottawa Business Journal and Ottawa Chamber of Commerce. 

Special acknowledgement to our guests for providing powerful insights into member engagement. 

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